Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Grows Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,296,632 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after buying an additional 38,080 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 0.57% of Norfolk Southern worth $306,498,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 69.0% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,723,398 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $536,319,000 after purchasing an additional 1,112,261 shares during the period. London Co. of Virginia lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 41.2% in the 3rd quarter. London Co. of Virginia now owns 1,976,871 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $389,305,000 after buying an additional 577,171 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter worth about $103,223,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 23,585.8% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 351,261 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $83,031,000 after acquiring an additional 349,778 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 3.2% during the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 8,629,330 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,699,371,000 after acquiring an additional 264,031 shares in the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on NSC. Morgan Stanley lowered Norfolk Southern from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $185.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $253.00 to $286.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $250.00 to $245.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Susquehanna cut their price target on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Norfolk Southern in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $300.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $262.32.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

NSC stock traded down $1.46 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $230.86. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 490,501 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,317,754. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The company’s 50 day moving average is $248.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $234.41. Norfolk Southern Co. has a fifty-two week low of $183.09 and a fifty-two week high of $263.66. The stock has a market cap of $52.15 billion, a PE ratio of 37.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.58 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 11.76% and a return on equity of 19.61%. Norfolk Southern’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.32 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.62 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 3rd will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is currently 86.96%.

Norfolk Southern Profile

Norfolk Southern Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the rail transportation of raw materials, intermediate products, and finished goods in the United States. The company transports agriculture, forest, and consumer products comprising soybeans, wheat, corn, fertilizers, livestock and poultry feed, food products, food oils, flour, sweeteners, ethanol, lumber and wood products, pulp board and paper products, wood fibers, wood pulp, beverages, and canned goods; chemicals consist of sulfur and related chemicals, petroleum products comprising crude oil, chlorine and bleaching compounds, plastics, rubber, industrial chemicals, chemical wastes, sand, and natural gas liquids; metals and construction materials, such as steel, aluminum products, machinery, scrap metals, cement, aggregates, minerals, clay, transportation equipment, and military-related products; and automotive, including finished motor vehicles and automotive parts, as well as coal.